A New Honorific Inscription from Blaundos: Tiberius Claudius Lucius, the Priest of Dionysos Kathegemon

Abstract

This article introduces the Hellenic honorific inscription on a pedestal found in 2018 in the excavation of the ancient city of Blaundos, within the borders of the village of Sülümenli in the Ulubey district of Uşak province. The pedestal is carved with a border frame around it and was unearthed in the excavation of the main street of the city. It bears an inscription of thirty lines on its front face and a Ludus Duodecim (XII) Scriptorum on its back face, which is understood to have been made later. The inscription provides information about a man named Tiberius Claudius Lucius, a builder, patriot, and benefactor of the city as well as a priest of Dionysos Kathegemon. Further, it records significant information concerning the construction activities he undertook. The erection of the statue was supervised by his nephew Aurelius Claudius Alexandros, of equestrian rank, and the finalization of this task together with the various construction activities openly stated in the inscription were supervised by Aurelius Claudius Alexandros who has the same name as his father, the nephew of Lucius. This inscription is significant for recording information about both the military titles and construction activities in the city. It is dated after AD 212 because of the name Aurelius.

Keywords

• Blaundos
• Dionysos Kathegemon
• horreum
• eleboleion
• Ludus XII Scriptorum

References

1. Diod. (=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica) Diodorus Siculus, Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes, with an English translation by C.H. Oldfather. Vols. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press/London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.
2. Ptol. (=Claudius Ptolemaios, Geographia) Claudii Ptolemaei geographia. 2 vols. Leipzig: Teubner. 1843-1845.
3. Steph. Byz. (=Stephanus Byzantinus, Ethnica) Stephan von Byzanz. Ethnika. 1809. Berlin: Reimer.
4. Strab. (=Strabo, Geographica) The Geography of Strabo, edited by H.L. Jones. 1924. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press/London: William Heinemann, Ltd.
5. Theoph. Chron. (=Theophanes, Chronographia) Theophanis Chronographia. Vol. 1, Lipsiae, edited by C. de Boor. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. 1883.
6. Adler, 1919. “Kathegemon.” In RE. Band 10.2, Ius liberorum-Katochos, 2519-521. Stuttgart: Alfred Druckenmüller Verlag.
7. Arkwright, W.G. 1918. “Lycian and Phrygian Names.” JHS 38:45-73.
8. Arslan, A. 2007. “Roma Halkının Sevdiği Bir Oyun: Duodecim Scripta.” Selçuk Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 17:33-43.

9. Austin, R.G. 1934. “Roman Board Games, I.” Greece and Rome 4.10:24-34.
10. Beekes, R. 2010. Etymological Dictionary of Greek. 2 vols. Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
11. BMC Lydia Head, B.V. 1901. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Lydia. A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum 22. London: Gilbert and Rivington.
12. Bruun, C. 2015. “Appendix III Roman Onomastics.” In The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy, edited by C. Bruun and J. Edmondson, 799-806. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13. Campbell, J.B. 2003. “Centurion.” In New Pauly, Antiquity. Band 3, 127-28. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
14. Can, B. 2017. “Blaundos Antik Kenti.” In Yüzey Araştırmaları ve Kazılar Işığında Uşak, edited by R.M. Czichon, Ş. Söyler, B. Can, and İ. Çavuş, 73-82. Istanbul: Ege Yayınları.
15. Demirer, Ü. 2015. “Kibyra Kazılarında Bulunan İki Adet Duodecim Scripta Tablası.” In 1. Teke Yöresi Sempozyumu Bildiriler Kitabı, 04-06 Mart 2015, Burdur. 2 vols., edited by Ş. Kazan Nas, 741-48. Burdur: Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi.
16. DGE Diccionario Griego-Español. Url: .
17. Dmitriev, S. 2005. City Government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
18. Dobson, B. 1978. Die Primipilares. Entwicklung und Bedeutung, Laufbahnen und Persönlichkeiten eines römischen Offiziersranges. Bonner Jahrbücher Suppl. 37. Köln: Rheinland Verlag.
19. Easterling, P., and E. Hall, eds. 2002. Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
20. Filges, A. 2006. Blaundos. Berichte zur Erforschung einer Kleinstadt im lydish-phrygischen Grenzgebiet, edited by A. Filges. IstForsch 48. Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag.
21. Frateantonio, C., and W. Eder. 1999. “Ktistes.” In Neue Pauly. Band 6, 881-82. Stuttgart/Weimar: Verlag J.B. Metzler.
22. Gignac, F.T. 1976. A Grammar of the Greek Papyri of the Roman and Byzantine Periods. Vol. 1, Phonology. Milano: Istituto Editoriale Cisalpino/La Goliardica.
23. Güler, T.B. 2015. “Teos Antik Kenti ve Dionysos Sanatçılar Birliği.” Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 34.57:23-40.
24. Hansen, E.V. 1971. The Attalids of Pergamon. Cornell Studies in Classical Philology 36. Ithaca/London: Cornell University Press.
25. Holtheide, B. 1983. Römische Bürgerrechtspolitik und römische Neubürger in der Provinz Asia. Hochschulsammlung Philosophie, Geschichte 5. Freiburg: Hochschul Verlag.
26. Hurschmann, R. 2004. “Duodecim scripta.” In New Pauly, Antiquity. Band 4, 738. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
27. IGLSyr 2 Jalabert, L., and R. Mouterde, eds. 1939. Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie. Vol. 2, Chalcidique et Antiochène. Paris: P. Geuthner.
28. IGLSyr 5 Jalabert, L., and R. Mouterde, eds. 1959. Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie. Vol. 5, Emesène. Paris: P. Geuthner.
29. IPerge Şahin, S. 1999-2004. Die Inschriften von Perge. Vol. 1, Vorrömische Zeit, frühe und hohe Kaiserzeit, Vol. 2, Texte aus dem 3. Jhdt. n. Chr., Grabtexte aus der frühen und hohen Kaiserzeit, Nachträge. Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 54 and 61. Nos. 1-279, 280-560. Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH.
30. IvP Fränkel, M. 1890-1895. Die Inschriften von Pergamon. 2 vols. Altertümer von Pergamon, 8.1-2. Vol. 1, nos. 1-250, Bis zum Ende der Königszeit. Vol. 2, nos. 251-1334, Römische Zeit. Berlin: Spemann.
31. Kuhn, A.B. 2017. “Honouring Senators and Equestrians in the Graeco-Roman East.” In The Politics of Honour in the Greek Cities of the Roman Empire, edited by A. Heller and O.M. van Nijf, 317-38. Brill Studies in Greek and Roman Epigraphy 8. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
32. Kumas, K.M. 1826. Λεξικόν δια τους μελετώντας τα των παλαιών ελλήνων συγγράμματα, κατά το ελληνογερμανικόν του Ρεϊμέρου, συνταχθέν μετά προσθήκης συντόμου πραγματείας περί προσωδίας. Vol. 2, Μ-Ω. Εν Βιέννη: Εκ της τυπ. Αντωνίου Ακτόλου.
33. le Rider, G. 1990. “Un groupe de cistophores de l’époque attalide.” BCH 114.2:683-701.
34. Lebek, W.D. 1990. “Neue Phalaikeen aus Pergamon.” ZPE 82:297-98.
35. Liddell, H.G., and R. Scott. 1846. A Greek-English Lexicon, based on the German Work of Francis Passow. New York: Harper & Brothers.
36. Liddell, H.G., and R. Scott. 1996. A Greek-English Lexicon. 9th ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
37. ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ. Logeion 2, built by Posner, P., E. Della Rocca, and J. Day. Url: .
38. Mennen, I. 2011. Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284. Impact of Empire 12. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
39. Michels, C. 2011. “Dionysos Kathegemon und der attalidische Herrscherkult. Überlegungen zur Herrschaftsrepräsentation der Könige von Pergamon.” In Studien zum vorhellenistischen und hellenistischen Herrscherkult, edited by L.-M. Günther and S. Plischke, 114-40. Oikumene. Studien zur antiken Weltgeschichte 9. Berlin: Verlag Antike.
40. Mionnet, T.E. 1835. Description de médailles antiques, grecques et romaines; avec leur degré de rareté et leur estimation; ouvrage servant de catalogue à une suite de plus de vingt mille empreintes en soufre, prise sur les pièces originales. Tome 7. Paris: Impr. de Testu.
41. Miranda, E. 2003. “Dioniso Kathegemon a Hierapolis di Frigia.” Opuscula Epigraphica 10:165-76.
42. Müller, H. 1898. “Ein neues hellenistisches Weihepigramm aus Pergamon.” Chiron 19:499-553.
43. Parker, R. 2017. Greek Gods Abroad: Names, Natures, and Transformations. Sather Classical Lectures 72. California: University of California Press.
44. Prehn, B. 1922. “Ktistes.” In RE Band 11.2, Komogrammateus-Kynegoi, 2083-87. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
45. Quaß, F. 1993. Die Honoratiorenschicht in den Städten des griechischen Ostens: Untersuchungen zur politischen und sozialen Entwicklung in hellenistischer und römischer Zeit. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
46. Ramshorn, C. 1842. Griechisch-Deutsches Handwörterbuch. Leipzig: Verlag von Bernh. Tauchnitz.
47. Rickman, G. 1971. Roman Granaries and Store Buildings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
48. Robert, L. 1965. Hellenica. Recueil d’épigraphie, de numismatique et d’antiquités grecques. Vol. 13, D’Aphrodisias à la Lycaonie. Compte rendu du volume VIII des Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua. Paris: Librairie Adrien Maisonneuve.
49. Sarıkaya, S. 2019. Anadolu’da Persler: Daskyleion Satraplığı. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları.
50. Schädler, U. 1995. “XII Scripta, Alea, Tabula - New Evidence for the Roman History of ‘Backgammon’.” In New Approaches to Board Games Research: Asian Origins and Future Perspectives, edited by A.J. de Voost, 73-98. Working Papers Series 3. Leiden: IIAS.
51. Schamber, P. 2009. “XII Scripta: Compilation, Analysis and Interpretation.” Senior thesis, DePauw University.
52. Simpson, D.P. 1993. Cassell’s Latin-English, English-Latin Dictionary. London: Macmillian Publishing.
53. Suda (=Suda, Lexicon) Suidae Lexicon, Graece et Latine: Textum Graecum cum Manuscriptis Codicibus Collatum a Quamplurimis Mendis Purgavit, Notisque Perpetuis Illustravit; Versionem Latinam Aemilii Porti Innumeris in Locis Correxit, Indicesque, Auctorum et Rerum Adjecit Ludolphus Kusterus. 3 vols., in Greek and Latin. By Suidas (Lexicographer), edited by L. Kuster, translated by A. Portus. 1705. Cambridge, UK: Typis Academicis.
54. TAM V.2 Herrmann, P., and J. Keil. 1989. Tituli Asiae Minoris. Vol. 5, Fas. 2, Tituli Lydiae linguis Graeca et Latina conscripti. Vienna: Verlag der Ö sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
55. TAM V.3 Petzl, G. 2007. Tituli Asiae Minoris. Vol. 5, Fas. 3, Tituli Lydiae linguis Graeca et Latina conscripti: Philadelpheia et Ager Philadelphenus. Vienna: Verlag der Ö sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
56. Üreten, H. 2003. “Neşredilmiş Yazıtlar Işığında Hellenistik Dönem’de Pergamon Kenti Tanrı ve Kültleri.” Ph.D. diss., Ankara University. von Prott, H. 1902. “Dionysos Kathegemon.” AM 27:161-88.
57. Ward, G.A. 2012. “Centurions: The Practice of Roman Officership.” Ph.D. diss., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.